I. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of mobile telephones. More particularly, the present invention relates to a novel and improved mobile telephone that automatically and intelligently implements a new configuration after a menu time-out.
II. Description of the Related Art
FIGS. 1-4 illustrate the configuration and operation of a mobile telephone in the prior art. FIG. 1 is a block diagram that depicts a conventional mobile telephone 100. The mobile telephone 100 includes display 101, dialing buttons 102, menu scroll control 103, menu select control 104, and control circuitry 105. The control circuitry 105 includes menu logic 111 and configuration logic 112. The menu logic 111 includes time-out logic 113. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that FIG. 1 is simplified for clarity, and some conventional components are omitted. Those skilled in the art will also understand that FIG. 1 is a logical view, and that the control circuitry 105 is implemented using processors, memory, software, control lines, and other conventional circuitry.
The display 101 operates in response to control signals from the menu logic 111. The menu logic 111 operates in response to control signals from the menu scroll control 103 and the menu select control 104. The configuration logic 112 controls the configuration of the mobile telephone 100 in response to menu selections. The time-out logic 113 tracks the elapsed time after a menu is entered and indicates when the elapsed time exceeds a time period. In response to a time-out, the menu logic 111 reverts to a default menu, and the configuration logic 112 continues to use the existing configuration.
FIG. 2 depicts the display 101 displaying a menu list. The menu list includes menu #1, menu #2, and menu #3. The scroll control 103 is used to hi-light one of the menus, and the selection control 104 is used to select the hi-lighted menu. For example, the scroll control 103 could be used to hi-light menu #2, and the selection control 104 could be used to select menu #2.
FIG. 3 depicts the display 101 displaying menu #2 in response to the selection. Menu #2 includes configuration A and configuration B. The scroll control 103 is used to hi-light one of the configurations, and the selection control 104 is used to select the hi-lighted configuration. For example, the scroll control 103 could be used to hi-light configuration B, and the selection control 104 could be used to select configuration B. The configuration logic 112 would then implement configuration B in response to the menu selection.
One example of a menu is a Service Provider Selection Mode menu. Some examples of configurations on the Service Provider Selection Mode menu include manual mode and automatic mode. In manual mode, the user manually selects the service provider to use. In automatic mode, the mobile telephone 100 automatically selects the service provider to use.
FIG. 4 depicts the operation of the control circuitry 105. The menu logic 111 puts a list of menus on the display 101. If the user selects one of the displayed menus, then the menu logic 111 puts the selected menu on the display. The selected menu includes a list of configurations. If the user selects one of the configurations before a time-out occurs, then the configuration logic 112 implements the new configuration. If the time-out logic 113 times-out before a new configuration is selected, then the configuration logic 112 continues to use the existing configuration. Unfortunately, the configuration logic 112 does not intelligently implement a new configuration in response to the time-out from the menu.
The present invention includes a novel and improved mobile telephone that implements a new configuration in response to a time-out from a menu. Advantageously, the mobile telephone can be configured to intelligently implement new configurations instead of merely reverting to the existing configuration.
A mobile telephone has an existing configuration and displays a menu. The mobile telephone generates a time-out from the menu if the elapsed time after entering the menu exceeds a time period. In response to the time-out, the mobile telephone implements a new configuration based on the menu in which the time-out occurred.